Scenario 3: Business – open to the public
Scenario 3 relates to the Grange Hotel, a large Georgian building set back from a busy main road in well-manicured grounds with many mature and specimen trees. The hotel has 30 bedrooms and two function rooms, plus a popular restaurant and bar. Residents and other visitors are encouraged to enjoy the walkways and lawns in the gardens. The driveway from the road leads past the hotel main entrance to a large, tree-lined car park at the rear.
Similar considerations could apply to a wide range of situations where the visiting public make up the core element of the business. This could include holiday camps, sports and leisure complexes or shopping centres, and places of worship
5 ha 
Approximately 700General information
Ownership/control of management
Responsibility: The hotel owner, a businesswoman, has overall responsibility for managing the hotel’s affairs. The business employs five full-time hotel staff members, including a deputy manager, two duty managers and a chef plus additional parttime kitchen, waitress and service staff. There is also a full-time head gardener and his part-time assistant. The owner relies on the head gardener’s advice in respect of any work needed to the trees, but recognises that she carries the ultimate legal responsibility. Because of the nature of the business, the emphasis on this duty of care is appreciated and actively discharged by the owner towards her employees, guests and the general public.
Arboricultural competence: The owner is not knowledgeable in arboricultural matters. She would be regarded as a lay person. However, as a reasonable and prudent landowner responsible for trees, the owner employs staff able to recognise and understand the significance of obvious structural defects in trees and be able to carry out a visual check that may result in obtaining further advice. The head gardener cares very much about the trees and all the horticultural works for which he has responsibility. Although he has no formal arboricultural qualifications, he has considerable experience of trees and their problems.
Access
The public has full access to all the grounds. At the front of the hotel, there are about 30 mature trees alongside the main road, a busy thoroughfare with both vehicular and pedestrian traffic. There is regular traffic on the driveway and in the car park.
Benefits of trees
The hotel owner is an astute businesswoman and is well aware that fine trees and well-kept gardens add considerably to the enjoyment of visitors and the appeal of the establishment and, therefore, the success of her business. Customers frequently make compliments about the fine and, in some cases, rare, tree species positioned in well-managed, landscaped grounds.
She understands that these benefits and value are balanced against the costs associated with maintaining the trees in good condition and managing any significantly elevated risks.
Natural living organisms
The head gardener spends a considerable amount of time in the garden, so he soon notices if a tree has changed in appearance or has some other problem that might suggest that it could be unsafe. He also observes them through the seasons in different stages of growth and dormancy.
Strategy
Management
The owner and head gardener have agreed that a formal, five-yearly inspection regime should cover all the trees on the property, with a three-yearly inspection of trees alongside the road. In the course of his other duties, the head gardener keeps a general eye on the trees and notices any significant change to their condition. The owner is satisfied that the head gardener is sufficiently knowledgeable about the grounds, their use and the trees to identify obviously hazardous changes in trees, such as broken, hanging branches or partially uprooted trees following a storm.
The head gardener’s initial check of all of the trees revealed six that caused him some concern and one in particular that he thought might be potentially dangerous. He discussed these trees with the hotel owner and she engaged a qualified arboriculturist to inspect any trees that the head gardener was concerned about. The arboriculturist provided a written report on these trees, detailing any remedial work required, prioritised according to his view of the level of concern for public safety.
Between them, the hotel owner and the head gardener decided to undertake the recommended work using a professionally accredited contractor. This report and invoices for the work are filed in the head gardener’s office.
Competence
The head gardener has no formal qualifications but his experience and regular presence on site mean he is more than capable of identifying immediate hazards. Employing a fully competent contractor for those trees where the head gardener is not sure of his diagnosis gives the hotel owner confidence that a reasonable maintenance system is in place from the perspectives of both tree health and public safety.
Records
The written survey is updated as necessary and kept on record along with invoices and correspondence records of any work carried out. The head gardener also keeps a note of his observations and comments in a diary as and when they arise as part of his normal record-keeping in relation to the care of the gardens.
Evaluation
While works are recommended to be carried out within a specified timescale, the hotel owner considers them to be advisory. Sometimes, for economic and other practical reasons, all work may not be completed when scheduled. Trees with higher priority recommended works take precedence over trees with lower priority recommended works. She considers her management strategy and practice to provide a reasonable balance between the costs of risk control and benefits gained from risk reduction. This management strategy allows the retention of large trees with other values and benefits, despite some being old with holes in branches and hollow trunks, features which she values as important for wildlife.